Petaloid Monocots Monocots 25% of flowering plants (11 orders)

Orchidaceae 775 Genera 19,500 Species!

Cypripedium acaule, Pink Lady’s Slipper, Orchidaceae, Blooms locally (e.g.,on Pine Cobble) in mid- to late May. Note pouch like lower lip-- the “slipper”.

Calypso bulbosa

Corallorrhiza trifida. Terrestrial, small flowered northern orchid. Orchidaceae

Angraecum sesquipedale Native to Madagascar has a 13 inch spur!!

Orchid: Angraecum sesquipedale Moth: Sphingidae Place: Madagascar Person: Darwin

Drakaea, Hammer Orchid

Drakaea thynniphila

Drakaea glyptodon

Drakaea gracilis

Ophrys orchids

Ophrys orchid. The lower lip is shaped like, smells like and feels like a female wasp. Pollination is by pseudocopulation Male wasp on Ophrys.

Ophrys insectifera

Orchid seed, note it is tiny, and lacks both endosperm and cotyledon. Each seed is simply a membranous seed coat containing a few undifferentiated cells.

Developing orchid plantlet or protocorm with mycorrhizal fungus.

Young orchid plant

Cattleya sp. Orchidaceae

Vanilla planifolia flower. This is the species of Vanilla cultivated for vanilla production. It is one of the few orchids that is a vine.

Vanilla planifolia capsules. Immature capsules are collected, sweated and fermented, then dried and cured in the sun (a process that can take months). The vanilla “beans” (which are actually capsules) are used as flavorings. In ancient Mexico they were also used as a perfume and aromatic.

Madagascar and other islands in the Indian Ocean are the main Vanilla producers. Hand pollination substitutes for the absence of native pollinators. Vanilla is native to Mexico and Central America.

Vanilla phaeantha, Orchidaceae